Flashback
by Saint New
Summary: Perhaps it's best not to remember.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was one of those days. One of the those days that everything was off. One of those days where everyone stayed back because they knew you were extra sensitive that day. One of those you woke up depressed and nothing could shake off the feeling. One of those days where the hurt hit hard and you couldn't hit it back.

Olivia was having one of those days. It was a relatively slow day and there was nothing to distract her from the inner-thoughts that threatened to break her. She sighed as she realized that she had been staring at the same piece of paper for an hour. Her eyes slowly crept up to the framed 5x7 sitting on her desk. She smiled. It was a photograph of herself, Elliot, John, Fin, and Cragen. It had been taken almost a year and a half ago.

Flashback It was Friday evening, and four of New York's finest detectives had just solved their latest biggest case. Cragen had given them the weekend off and they were determined to milk the two days for all they were worth. Presently, they were attending a party thrown by Fin. It was going pretty slow, but the evening had just begun. Everyone was milling around, engaged in private conversations when the sound of metal tapping against glass rang out into the crowd.

"May I have everyone's attention, please?" John glanced around the room, catching the eye of each person present. "I'd like to first thank Fin for throwing such a fabulously dull party..." He paused as everyone giggled and Fin pursed his lips in mock annoyance. "...and, second, I'd like to propose a toast to a few of New York's finest Special Victims detectives. To eight years of sleepless nights, heartaches, and unsolved cases. To the arguements, the laughter, the...,the..."

"Oh would you hurry up?" Fin exclaimed.

"...To us! Cheers!" John concluded, raising his champagne glass. He took a sip and strolled over to his fellow collegues.

"John, that was beautiful," Olivia said.

"John, that was long and drawn out," Elliot countered. Everyone laughed at that. "Next time, ease up on the chit-chat."

"I'll drink to that," Fin chuckled as he and Olivia raised their glasses and tapped them against Elliot's. John looked almost insulted. They all went back to their private conversations. Unknownst to them, some lucky soul had managed to snap a picture as the four detectives in an unusual good mood.

Flashback ends

"Olivia?" Cragen's voice interupted her thoughts. She was surprised to find that her cheeks were moist and that she was grinning like an idiot. She chuckled as she reached for a tissue, praying that her mascara wasn't running.

"Olivia?" She realized that she still had answered him.

"Yeah, Cap?" she replied, embarassed.

"The medical examiner has summoned you. Says she has something that will help with the MacGuire case."

"Okay," she answered, reaching for her jacket. She really didn't want to see Warner, but after what happened, she decided to put aside personal feelings and remain professional. After all, she was the cause of her own pain.

TBC

A/N: This is the start of my second story. This is darker than "Rainy Mondays", but I don't know how it will turn out. Please Read and Review. Thank you. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Olivia slowly pulled out into traffic. It was grey today, and her mood went right along with it. She was reluctant to go see Warner, but she decided to suck it up. Melinda brought back so many unwanted memories. She was unaware of the tears sliding down her face. She was unaware as her body set itself on autopilot and her mind wandered off to the depths of her memories.

FLASHBACK

It was overcast. Olivia could tell her partner was angry. He was straining not to show it, and pulled off pretty well to an average person. But she knew better. She also resisted asking him about it. Maybe she didn't want to know. She sighed as she gazed out the window at all the people who were lucky enough not to have to deal with the stuff she and her partner saw every day.

"It's my own fault." His words jarred her from her thoughts. "I wasn't the best father. I wasn't the best husband. I was never there. All my life, I was determined not to become my father. But I look up, BAM," Elliot slammed his hand against the dashboard, "I've turned into him anyway."

It hurts Olivia to see Elliot in so much pain, but she didn't want to feel like she wasinterfering with his life again. She felt so bad about no being able to help.

The next Oliva knew, she was pulling back from his lips. She was in shock. Perhaps she was dreaming.

"Did you just kiss me?" Elliot asked, not sounding completely sorry. His question confirmed her suspecsion. She hadn't meant to, but didn't entirely regret it either.

"Liv?"

"I think I did. Sorry, Elliot," she sighed, thinking she had just ruined the friendship they had just regained.

"I'm not." She turned slowly to look at Elliot. She was really in shock now. Did he say what she thought he said? Had he caught on to her staring at him while he work? Had he caught the jealous tone she took when their victims smiled at him, when their female preps battered eyelashes? Fin had always told her she was wasting her energy being jealous, that he didn't want them.

She stole a glance at Elliot to see him grinning as her leaned over toward her...

Flashback ends

Now Olivia was in tears. She remembered how good it felt and how bad it hurt to remember. She wanted more than anything to relive that moment. That moment when she felt was it was like to be wanted, to be loved, and to want and love back. She wanted that feeling but knew it was impossible.

TBC

A/N:Please read and review. I was waiting for reviews to write another chap. I went ahead a wrote another. The story line might change in the future. The story isn't solely based on an EO relationship.  
Thankx svu101! 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Olivia?...Olivia?" Olivia suddenly realized the Warner had been speaking to her. She wondered how long she had been talking and when she zoned out. She was mixed between wanting to stab the woman in front of her and wanting to throw the past behind her to have a female companion, since she had alienated herself from the rest of her girlfriends. Olivia then began to mentally kick herself, for her pain was the result of her own doing. Frowning in frustration, she tried to remember why she hated Melinda. Her mind came up with nothing.

"...As you can see, C.O.D. was not from strangulation as I previously thought. The autopsy suggested that the victim went into cardiac arrest. Strangulation was done post-mordem..." Warner had turned around, confident that she had gotten Olivia's attention. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that the feeling between them had changed. She wasn't sure why, but she certainly knew when. She, personally, wanted to bury the past and move on, but respected Olivia enough to let her make the first move. She turned to see she had lost Olivia again, or perhaps, never got her. To the untrained eye, Olivia seemed to be completely engulfed in Warner's jargon. For Melinda, however, Olivia's eyes gave her away.

Unknowst to Warner, Olivia caught the back end of what she said. 'There goes the case,' she thought to herself. She looked down at the casket she has acquired a court order to dig up. Even with all the dirt caked on it, one could still see how beautiful it had once been. 'How eeriely similar to my relationships.' Olivia continued gazing at the casket, until her mind wandered off and dark burgandy meshed with the white of Warner's lab coat...

Flashback

Olivia slowly opened her eyes. She felt the sunlight warm her face and, for a moment, paniced. She then remembered that she had the day off. Although her mind protested, she decided to get up anyway. She streached and sat up. It took her mind a second to register that her hand had just brushed something slightly prickly, but warm. She jumped, almost afraid to look who was there. His eyes fluttered open, but not before a grin painted his face. His blue, blue eyes seemed to pierce her soul and smash her fear. She had began to say something, but his smile shut her up. So she remained quiet. His grin was contagious, she found herself grinning, as she slid back into the bed, wrapped in his arms. She remembered six weeks earlier, when she and Elliot shared their very first kiss. She remembered how good it felt, how right.

"A penny for your thoughts," Elliot teased, pulling her from her thoughts.

"You'd need a dollar for my thoughts." Olivia laughed, as she softly kissed him. "I was just thinking about our first kiss."

"Yeah? I was too." He kissed her again. "But you know what I'm thinking about now?"

"What's that?"

"Last night."

"Mmhm, what about it?" Olivia's face jaws were sore, but she couldn't keep the grin off her face.

"Well..." He was interupted by his cell phone. They both silently cursed the phone and whoever was on the other end. They prayed it wasn't Cragen. Elliot reluctantly answered it on the fifth ring.

"Stabler?" Relief washed over his face as he recognized the voice, glad it wasn't Cragen. "What's wrong?" He was now frowning. "WHAT!" He screeched, shooting out of the bed, and reaching for his clothes. "When did this happen?" He was now dressed and flying out the room and down the hall. Olivia grabbed her robe and ran after him. Elliot seemed to have completely forgotten her, for, by the time she reached the bedroom door, he was shutting her apartment door behind him. She sprinted to the door, threw it open to see him disappearing into the elevator. She felt like crying. She sunk to the floor, determined not to cry.

Flashback ends

Olivia sighed as everything came back into focus. She was slighty surprised to see that she was back in the squadroom. It was late and almost everyone had gone home. She wasn't surprised to see that Cragen's office light was still on. She was surprised, however, to see that John was still at his desk. John was notorious for going home as soon as possible and taking breaks that lasted into the next day's shift. He was watching her and she felt slightly uncomfortable under his gaze. They sat like this for a while. John broke the silence by approaching her and laying a file on her desk.

"You'll want to see this," he simply said, walking out the door. "You can thank me later," he threw over his shoulder.

TBC

A/N: Oh, my.. what's that? It smells like a cliffhanger! Wow, thanks for all the reviews! I'm not sure how it will end, so I'm open to suggestions. Please, continue to read and review. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"What the hell...?" Olivia thought as she watched John walk out of the squadroom. She knew he could be weird and it wouldn't be the first time he gave her a sealed envelope containing yet another essay on the corruption of political powers. She hoped that wasn't what this was because they were always twenty pages long, and she had to read it to perserve his feelings.

Sighing, she flipped the package over and quickly tore the tape off. She pulled several 9x12 black and white photographs from the package. Slowly, she flipped through the pictures, each succeeding one taking her breath away. She got to the last one. Shocked, she sat staring at the photo...

FLASHBACK

Olivia walked into the squadroom to see Elliot emerging from Cragen's office. She powerwalked over to Elliot before he had a chance to walk away.

"Elliot." She grabbed his arm as he gathered up his coat. "Wait. What's been going on?"

Elliot decided to play dumb.

"What are you talking about?

"Uh, it's been a couple weeks, El." She replied, pulling him into the privacy of the interview room.

"Since what?"

"Since you walked out on me. You never gave me an explanation, Elliot. What's going on?" Elliot only shrugged, failing to see the anger in Olivia's eyes.

"You..don't...know...?" Olivia was on the edge of exploding. Why was he being so stubborn? Couldn't he see she was hurting?

"Liv, I really don't owe you an explanation."

"What?" she asked through clenched teeth. "What do you mean you don't really owe me an explanation?" she said in a dangerous, low voice, hoping he'd get it.

"I..don't...owe...you..." He was cut off as she slapped him.

"How dare you! After I let my guard down, after I opened my heart and soul, and after I gave it all up to you, all you can say you don't owe me anything! You've got to be kidding me" By now, her voice had broken and she was shaking. "You bastard! Can't you see I love you? Can't you see you hurt me?"

Elliot had in fact noticed, and he was hurting too. His problems and his pride only allowed him to feel numb, though.

"It was late and we were drunk, Liv. A one night stand is all it was..." he replied, as he walked out of the room.

"If it really was, you would've have been there when I woke up." Elliot froze at his desk. He turned, and Olivia could see his eyes were misted over. In two steps, he crossed the room and Olivia closed her eyes as he planted a passionate kiss on her lips. When she reopened them, he was gone and she was met by the smirks of John and Fin.

FLASHBACK ENDS

Olivia was quitely sniffling now. This is how Fin found her.

"Liv?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. She jumped slightly, quickly flipped over what she was looking at, mumbled something incoherent, and ran from the room with her coat and purse. Fin was baffled. He picked up the photo she had tossed on the desk. He was shocked to see the recent lopking picture of Elliot. He was supposed to have died six months ago.

A/N: Ya'll must hate me for taking so long to update. I've been busy with school and such. It's kinda a short, but writer's block has plowed into me like a football player. Please continue to read and review! 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Fin never felt more confused in his life. He thought, "Surely, this is a misprint." The more and more he wanted it too be logical, his mind couldn't push pass the images of his friend. He stared intently at the picture of Elliot wearing his trademark grin. He heard footsteps and quickly tossed the pictures back the desk.

Olivia had already seen Fin. She saw how he was attempting to play it off as if he hadn't been snooping on her desk. She saw how shocked he was to see the picture. She saw all this and made a decision, right then and there, to chuck everything she had worked on for the past six months. Fin realized this a split second before she blew up at him.

FLASHBACK

Olivia felt like crap. She felt she had pushed away the best thing, if not only, thing she had going for her. As much as she tried to convinced herself it wasn't true, as much as her friends tried to tell her she was wrong, she could help how she felt.

She sat in her small apartment, cursing herself for the millionth time about yelling at Elliot. At first, she thought she had really hurt him, for he hadn't been back to work since the incident. After a couple a days, Cragen had informed her that Elliot wasn't coming back, that he had transfered. Slightly upset that Cragen hadn't told her earlier and that Elliot hadn't told her at all, she asked where. Cragen sighed and looked away. She could almost swear he was crying. After a few minutes of prompting, Cragen looked her square in the eye and told her he had transfered to the Los Angeles Special Victims Unit. Shocked, but determined to remain calm, she asked why he didn't inform her sooner. He replied that he hadn't believed Elliot himself and was giving him a few days to reconsider. Elliot had, instead, used those few days to pack the remainder of his items and haul-ass to the sunny beaches of California. Olivia simply walked out of the office, out of the precint, and out of the last piece of sanity she might have had a hold on.

This was four weeks ago, and Olivia was still battling with mixed feelings. The past few weeks had not gone well. She stopped eating and had lost a considerable amount of weight. She never smiled anymore; if she wasn't angry, then she was depressed. She went through the work day with robotic like motions and spent the remainder of the day nursing drinks at the local bar and getting into trouble. Cragen, not quite fed up with her, but feared for her, decieded she needed to speak with a professional. Not only afraid for her, but also afraid of her, he managed to finally con Casey into talking Olivia into going to a psychologist. Casey almost had to physically drag Olivia down to Huang's office. Even then, she refused to talk.

Since then Olivia had begun to open up to the quiet, caring doctor. He had helped her open up feelings she had before refused to feel. She was clean of the alcohol and had gained back half the weight she lost. She actually went to dinner with John and Fin and enjoyed herself last night. Feeling all the more confident, she walked into her bedroom and pulled out the small package she had come home to the day she got into the arguement with Elliot. Unwrapping it quickly, she was met by a small black box and a letter of apology from Elliot. Her heart skipped a beat as her knees liquidfied and tears bungee-jumped down her face. She slowly opened the box and found the most beautiful engagement ring she had ever seen. Underneath the ring, she found a note that read "For the most beautiful woman I know, the most beautiful ring I could find..." She was overcome with emotion and was halfway to the floor when the phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered shakily.

"Is this the fiancee of Detective Elliot Stabler?" asked a grave voice.

"Ye..yes. This is Olivia Benson. Who is this?" Oliva was already imaging the thousands of things this could mean, all of them bad.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Benson..." Olivia's suspicions were confirmed as she caught the break in the caller's voice.

"...there was an accident tonight..." That was the last thing Olivia heard, for she had let the phone clatter to the floor and had dropped to the floor sobbing.

FLASHBACK ENDS

Olivia found herself shaking in the arms of Fin, who also was weeping. Neither had no idea where or when John had found the pictures or where to go from there. They only knew they had to prepare themselves for a bumpy ride.

TBC

A/N: Mwahaha, go ahead and tell me how cruel you think I am. Thank you for all the reviews. I promise to update within the next thwo-three days, so don't gang-up on me. Suggestions? please hand them out, thank you! 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It was the next morning and John walked in, late as ever. He found it odd that the squadroom was empty, and was slightly disappointed, for he wanted to talk to Olivia. He figured he had dropped a lot on her shoulders last night and she was still sleeping it off. He couldn't figure out why his partner wasn't there. Fin made an effort to be early if it was John's day to make the coffee. Sighing, he sank down into his chair and began reading a file.

"John!" He looked up to see Cragen standing in the doorway of his office. Immediatelty, John leaped out of his seat and launched into yet another conspiracy theory about the public transportation system. Cragen let him go on for a few minutes.

"John..."

"...the government is discovering more and more ways to siphon money from the common people. You know the fare has leaped exponentially since I last rode the bus. Granted, that was over ten years ago, but still..."

"John!" John stopped talking. He looked at his captian, who looked slightly annoyed, but mostly worried. John wondered what was going on. He thought perhaps a threat had been put out one of his collegues life. After all, that was how they lost Elliot.

"Where is everybody?" John asked, glancing into Cragen's office. He couldn't see the whole room, but from what he could see, it appeared to be empty.

"They're up in the crib. I walked in this morning and found the two of them looking at something. They wouldn't let me see it, but whatever it was had Fin looking like death warmed up and Olivia looking like hell froze over. I...go wake them up, we have a break in the case."

Upstairs, Olivia turned restlessly. Cragen had sent her and Fin to the crib over two hours ago, but she still hadn't slept. Her mind had been racing with questions about the picture. She wondered where John was; it wasn't unusual for him to be late, in fact, one could count on it. What was unusual was for him to be late without calling in with some sorry excuse about his landlord plotting against him. Fin was still snoring softly. She sighed at the otherwise quiet room. Then, she heard the door open.

FLASHBACK

It was a couple weeks after Elliot funeral. Olivia felt sick. She had been questioning herself lately and hadn't come up with few answers. She felt the month of therapy she had been in was worthless as she found herself in the same habits she developed when Elliot had transfered.

She had found out that Elliot transfered out to California because his ex-wife's job had transfered her to Oakland. Kathy had been bitter about the move, but Elliot couldn't keep working with Olivia after what happened. Olivia was sure her eyes were playing tricks on her. Was Kathy glaring at her? Surely, she didn't think it was her fault. The woman had just lost her husband, even if he was an ex. What was Olivia to Elliot? His partner and part-time lover?

Olivia couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. She had hoped it would be an open casket service, but then she remembered that Elliot's untimely death had been caused by a explosion. They had told her that his face was burned beyond recognition. They only knew it was him by the watch that Olivia had given him for his birthday. She smiled as she remembered the trouble she had gone through to get the damned thing personalized. She kept smiling as she remembered the way his eyes lit up when he unwrapped it.

She slowly became aware that someone was knocking on the door. Sighing in frustration, she walked to the door. She suspected it was Casey, coming to drag her to another therapist or yoga or for a run in the park. She opened the door to find she was wrong. There stood Elliot's ex. Kathy looked unusally well for someone who had just lost a spouse. Olivia supposed she could be wrong; she knew first hand that the eyes told all, and presently, Kathy was sporting giant sunglasses that covered half her face. Kathy pushed her way past Olivia and boldly entered the apartment.

"Olivia, I'm here because I have received information I'm hoping to confirm," Kathy stated coldly, staring hard at Olivia. She hated the woman standing in front of her with all her heart. It was her fault that Elliot was gone.

"Well, hello to you too, Kathy," Olivia replied, just as cold. She didn't even bother to try to supress her feeling.

"Don't mock me..."

"How are the kids?" Olivia cut her off. She knew why Kathy was here and knew she wouldn't leave without an answer.

"Don't change the subject. I hear that you slept with my husband and drove him away."

"First off, he walked away. Second, you were divorced..."

"That's where you're wrong, detective. We were seperated, not divorced. But you had to go and sleep with him. You had to make him leave. I hope you can't sleep at night, because you killed him, you whore!" Kathy had been screaming, and now turned on her heel, and headed for the door. She paused with her hand on the doorknob. She turned slowly. "You'll get yours detective. I can guarantee that." Kathy slammed the door behind her.

Oliva sank to the floor, sobbing. She, deep down, knew that Kathy had been right. She had known Elliot wasn't truly divorced, even if no one else knew. She felt she had been that reason that Elliot died.

She heard her cell phone go off. She had been on paid vacation for a while now, and she still had another two weeks off. She picked the phone up off the coach. What she saw chilled her to the bone. The display read Elliot's cell number.

"Benson?" Olivia answered shakily. Whoever was on the other line gasped and hung up. Olivia cut off the phone, never feeling lower than she did now.

FLASHBACK ENDS

Olivia looked up to see John standing in the doorway. She immediately climbed off the rock hard cot. She turned to see Fin still slumbering. Deciding to let him sleep awhile longer, she walked out of the room with John. She stole glances at him as they walked toward Cragen's office. He looked as bad as her, if not worse. She wanted to ask him about the picture, but waited for him to make the first move.

"Olivia, you're awake." Olivia smiled at Cragen's sarcasm. "The suspect was spotted leaving his apartment thirty minutes ago. I want you and Munch to go wait for his return." Olivia nodded and turned to retrieve her coat. She knew she'd be sitting in the car a while. What she didn't know was the ride she'd be going on with the information John was going to give her.

TBC

A/N: HAHAHAHA! Thank you to all those who reviewed. The site hasn't logged out for me yet, so I guess it hasn't been three days since my last update. See, I can be true to my word. The next chapter will answer more questions. I think there will be, at least, three or four more chapters. Keep reading and reviewing! 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"It's cold out here," Olivia said, sipping the hot coffee in her hands.

"Yep," replied John. He was trying to figure how to tell her about the picture. He had volunteered himself and Olivia for the stake-out so that he could explain himself. She didn't seem angry and he took that as her being fine with his boldness. "Liv...I...I volunteered us for the stake-out because I wanted to tell you about the picture. I..."

"You volunteered us?" Olivia asked, not too mad. She had wanted John to talk to her, but would have prefered not to have to sit in the cold to do it.

"Yeah. I've got...ah...connections. My people gave me this information..."

"Your people?" Olivia asked skeptically.

"Yeah, now listen. This information is cofindential. We're not even supposed to know about it."

"John...where are you going with this?"

"Liv...Elliot...Elliot's not dead."

"...What?"

"He's not dead."

"How..." John held up his hand, indicating he wanted to finish.

"He got into something or the other and IAB was all over his ass. Then he slept with you and..."

"...how'd did you..."

"It was pretty obvious, especially after you blew up at him. Anyway, IAB was after him, so he transfered to the California SVU. Once he got there, he went on a bust. The guy got off, but he wasn't too happy with Elliot's brash attitude. The guy lost his wife and children because of the arrest. He got fired and had a 'sexual predetor' tacked to his name. He had a real ego issue cause he put a hit out on Elliot. They had to put him the Witness Protection Program."

"So, how'd you get the picture?"

"Well, the guy finally caught up with Elliot..."

"...so, he..."

"...and the end of Elliot's gun." John smiled smugly. He could just imagine Elliot's grin as he caught the bastard.

"...so..."

"So, I don't know if he'll be back or not. My sorces tell me he's happy there."

"Oh." Olivia wondered what this could mean. A million things ran through her mind as the brown of her coffee blurred...

FLASHBACK

The screech of the phone jarred Olivia from her deep slumber. She groggily picked up the alarm clock. The red digits read 4:15 AM. She had gotten home three hours ago and had gotten to sleep an hour and a half ago. She knew it wouldn't be Cragen; he was the one who forced her to finally go home, mostly because she sounded like she was coming down with something. He had given the next two days off.

"Benson, and this had better be damned good," she mumbled, not bothering to mask her annoyance. There was only hard breathing on the other end.

"Look, this isn't funny. Is anyone there?" Olivia was mad now because she was awake and slightly worried.

"Hello?" she tried again. Whomever was on the other end lost their nerve and hung up. Sighing, Olivia cut the connection. This wasn't the first time this had happened. In fact, it had been happening once or twice a week for the past three weeks. She, at first, shook it off. But when it kept happening, she began to get worried. The phone rang again, shattering her thoughts.

"Benson?"

"...Liv?" The person gasped and hung up. Olivia sat, holding the phone. After a few long minute, she turned off the phone. Shocked and dazed, she could have swore that voice belonged to Elliot.

FLASHBACK ENDS

"How long has it been? Since he shot the guy?" Olivia broke the two-hour silence.

"About a month..." John replied.

"John? Liv?" Fin's voice camed crackled through the radio.

"Yeah?" John answered.

"This guy isn't gonna show. Captain just called. Said they found him in some abandoned warehouse. OD'ed on somethin'"

"Alright, thanks Fin," John replied, already turning the ignition of the car. As they pulled over to the alley Fin had been hiding in, Olivia's phone went off. She looked down to see the display read the same number that had been calling her late at night. Shakily, she flipped open the phone.

"Benson?"

TBC

A/N: Whoops, almost fell off the cliffhanger I left. Thanks, again, for all the reviews! I lied when I said it wasn't completely about Elliot and Olivia, but hey, I'm entitled to change my storyline. And I lied whenI said there would be more chapters. Now, I'm thinking there will only be one more chapter, unless I get a lot of suggestions. There might be a sequel, I don'y know yet. Read and Review, let me know what ya think! 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Olivia couldn't shake the feeling that something big was about to happen. She had recieved a phone call earlier that day during a stakeout. What came out of that phone call changed her life, confirmed her suspicions, and squashed her doubts.

FLASHBACK 3:08 PM after the stake-out

"Benson?"

"...Liv?...Olivia?"

"Ye...yea?"

"...It's so good to hear your voice."

":quiet sniffling:"

"...are you crying?"

":sniff: No."

"...so..."

"...It's been a while..."

"Since what?"

"Since ya called me...that was you, wasn't it?"

"...:sigh: guilty."

"...I knew it was...deep down, I knew..."

"...yea...ya know, we've got some catching up to do..."

"...does this mean...does this mean what I think it means?"

":sigh:...Liv, I...I can't...I...just..."

"I get it..."

"I wanna see you. I really do."

"But..."

"But...I don't know...I can't make...I can't do it..."

":voice cracks: I've gotta go...maybe I'll see you around..."

"yea...maybe you will..."

connection breaks

FLASHBACK ENDS

Olivia sat in the darkness of her bedroom. She was so certain that he'd come back. She could understand his fear, but didn't he realize how much she needed him? He ought to know by now how much she wanted him. He should have gotten by now how much she craved him.

Sighing at the rain rolling down her window, she sipped at the sparkling cider she was nursing. She made a vow not to drink alcohol again, but could fool herself when she felt especially low with anything so long as it was in a wine glass. She watched as a streak of lighting lit up the night-time sky and felt the rumble of its thundery aftershock. So preoccupied with the weather, she didn't noticed the car pull in front of her building until she heard the knock on the door. Starting slightly, she set down the glass and slowly walked toward the door. She figured it was probably Casey, coming to make sure she hadn't drunk herself into a coma. Not bothering with the peephole, she threw open the door. She started to say something about Casey being paranoid, but what stood before her took those words and many more away from her mouth. After a few minutes, she found her voice.

"Welcome home, Elliot."

The End

A/N: That's all folks!...unless you want a sequel.Please read, review, and let me know what ya think! 


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